Author: Mish
Regaining Trust (Part 9)
“Di. I don’t believe it. Tum mujhe shopping karne ke liye saath mein le kar aayi ho. Aur woh bhi street side bargain shops mein nahin, is mall mein?”
“Mujhe ek dhang ki dress chahiye Siddhi. Main kya karoon?”
“To main ye thode hi na kah rahi hoon ki tum kuchh galat kar rahi ho. Main to bas surpried hoon. Kuchh to change ho gaya hai tumme?”
“Achcha hai ya bura?”
“Jab tak mujhe bekaar mein daanto na, achchha hi hai.”
“Ek baar daanta tha, uske liye kya mujhe zindagi bhar taane milenge?”
“Nahin baba. Chalo. Kya khareedna hai tumhein?”
“Salwaar-kameez theek rahegi na? Dinner par jaane ke liye?”
“Haan. Chalo tumhein ek stylish si salwaar-kameez khareedwai jaye. Waise Di, ek baat poochhoon? Bura to nahin maanogi?”
“Kya?”
“Tum aur Dr. Ashutosh… Kuchh baat hai kya?”
“Zyada bak-bak mat kar Siddhi. Main bas… unki bahut respect karti hoon.”
“Okay. Nahin karti bak-bak. Maine to bas aise hi poochha. Chalo. Is shop mein chalte hain. Achchhe designs dikh rahe hain showcase mein.”
—
“Rahul? Tum yahan kaise?” Ashutosh was surprised to see Rahul in his office. He was still in his school-uniform.
“Sir. Main le aayi.”
“Kyon?”
“Aaj meri duty nahin thi, to main Siddhi ko lene chali gayi. Rahul ko dekh kar mujhe laga ki ise checkup ki zaroorat ho sakti hai.”
“Kya suspect kar rahi hain aap?”
“I hope I am wrong, lekin Sir… jaundice ho sakta hai.”
“Achcha kiya aap le aayin. Main bhi kal yahi soch raha tha. Lekin aaj checkup ke liye la nahin paya.”
“Koi baat nahin, Sir. Main samples dilwa deti hoon.”
“Okay. Thanks Nidhi.”
Nidhi’s and Ashutosh’ suspicions were correct. Rahul was suffering from jaundice and needed full bed rest for recovery apart from the medicines.
Ashutosh maintained outward calm, but Nidhi could sense that he was disturbed.
“Sir. Aap pareshaan kyon ho rahe hain? Bilkul early stages mein detect ho gaya hai. Zyada din nahin lagenage theek hone mein ise.”
“I know. As a doctor I know. But as a parent I don’t know how to manage. Something as simple as full bed-rest for someone as active as Rahul. It’s… going to be tough.”
“I know. Lekin aap ghabraiye mat. Jab bhi possible hoga, main uske saath rahoongi.”
“That’s very sweet of your Nidhi. Lekin aaple oopar already itni zimmedaariyan hain.”
“Aap chinta mat kijiye, Sir. Siddhi ab badi ho gayi hai. Itna samajhti hai. Aur woh bhi Rahul ko company de sakti hai ghar par. Of course, agar aapko aitraaz na ho.”
“Mujhe kyon aitraaz hoga? Lekin aap khud hi dhyaan rakhein ki aapki life disturb na ho.”
“Nahin hogi, Sir.”
—
“Chalo tumhari drawing book dekhte hain,” Nidhi proposed to engage Rahul.
“Okay. Main abhi laata hoon,”
“Tum mujhe bata do kahan hai, main le aati hoon. Tumhein zyada bhaagne-daudne ki manahi hai na.”
“Main kab theek hounga Nidhi Auntie?”
“Bahut jaldi. Abhi batao mujhe… Ye hai tumhari drawing book?” Nidhi pulled out a book from Rahul’s shelf.
“Haan. Wahi hai.”
Ashutosh stopped at the door and watched as Rahul walked her through the trees, cottages, rivers, sun, mangoes and other thing he had drawn.
He stiffened when he heard Rahul mention family, “Aur ye hai meri family.”
Nidhi was also awkward. She did not ask him any quetions like she did in earlier drawings. But Rahul went on, “Ye Papa. Ye Rahul. Aur ye… Meri Mummy to hain nahin. Lekin mere teacher ne aise hi drawing sikhayi hai.”
“Tum apni Mummy ko miss karte ho?” Nidhi could not help asking.
To her surprise, he shook her head, “Nahin. Mujhe Mummy ke baare mein kuchh yaad nahin hai. Lekin Mummy hoti to achchha hota.”
“Kyon?”
“Mummy hoti to mujhe beemaari mein akele nahin rahna padta. Papa hamesha nahin rahte.”
“Papa ko kaam hota hai na Rahul. Aur Mummy hoti to unhein bhi kaam par jaana hota,” Nidhi tried to reason with him.
“Sumit ki Mummy bhi kaam karti hain. Lekin jab uska accident hua tha to uske Papa ya Mummy mein se ek hamesha uske saath rahta tha.”
Nidhi got emotional and pulled him in a hug.
Ashutosh’ stiff expressions changed to those of worry on hearing Nidhi, “Agar main tumhare saath rahoon to?”
“Meri Mummy ki tarah?”
“Would you like that, Rahul?”
“Dr. Nidhi!” Ashutosh had to speak finally. Nidhi was startled. She looked at Ashutosh for a moment, then ran away from there. Ashutosh went to Rahul and asked after his health. Then he called his maid to be with him and went out to find Nidhi, hoping that she hadn’t left.
She hadn’t. She was pacing nervously in the hall. She stopped and stood still when she saw him. The expressions on her face gave nothing away.
“Kya kah rahi thi aap Rahul ko?”
She continued to stand still with downcast eyes and did not reply.
“Main kuchh poochh raha hoon tumse.”
Silence.
“Of all the people tum… tumhein pata hona chahiye ki ek broken family mein bachche ko bada karna kitna mushkil hota hai, kitne mushkil sawaalon ke jawaab dene padte hain, kitni mehnat karni padi hai ye ensure karne mein ki use kabhi apne baare mein, apne parivaar ke baare mein bura mahsoos na ho. Aur jahan tak ho saka hai maine ye sab karne ki koshish ki hai. I’m sorry. I’m sorry ki woh phir bhi in ghar mein Ma ki kami mahsoos karta hai. Lekin us kami se woh cope kar raha hai, Nidhi. Kyonki woh uski life ka hard truth hai. Lekin agar use koi sapna dikha diya, jo poora nahin hua, to usse woh cope nahin kar payega. Kyon dikha rahi ho aise impossible sapne use? Soch kya rahi thi tum?”
“Main… Sir… I am… sorry…” Nidhi mumbled quite scared by his outburst.
“Itna bhadda mazaak us bachche ke saath kaise kar sakti ho tum? Jaan chhidakta hai woh tum par.”
She finally looked up with her tear-filled eyes and met his for the first time during the conversation, “Main bhi to chhidakti hoon apni jaan. Us par bhi aur aap…” In a split second Ashutosh went from being angry, to being confused to being awkward at the realization of what she said, or rather what she left unsaid.
“What? Kya kah rahi ho tum? Pagal ho gayi ho?”
“I am sorry,” she wiped her tears with the back of her hand and made to leave. This was all a mistake.
“Wait. Nidhi,” he grabbed her hand to stop her from going, then found it awkward and let it go. She stopped though. “Bhaagna to koi tareeka nahin hai kissi bhi problem ko suljhane ka.”
“Mujhe koi problem nahin hai.”
“Problem nahin hai to ro kyon rahi ho?”
“Kyonki… mujhe Rahul ko aise nahin bolna chahiye tha aur aap shayad mujhe iske liye maaf nahin karenge.”
“Rahul ko main sambhaal loonga. Lekin jis raaste par tum ja rahi ho, use dekh kar mujhe tumhari chinta ho rahi hai.”
“Kyon?”
“Kyon? Tumhein nahin pata, kyon? Tumhari aankhon par parda pada hua hai. Infatutation ka.”
“Infatuation hone ki meri umra nahin rahi.”
“Kisne kah diya nahin rahi. How old are you? 22? 23? Main har saal tumhari umra ke logon ko supervise karta hoon…”
“Dr. Ashutosh. Please…”
“Look Nidhi,” Ashutosh softened and spoke calmly, “It’s not unusual. At this age… Falling in love… With an authority figure… I’m sure you have seen the infatuation of students with their teachers. Mostly ye harmless hoti hain. Lekin jis situation mein tum ho, jis situation mein main hoon… Ye fantasies tumhein problem mein daal sakti hain. Aur fantasies sachchai mein nahin badalti. I am a 38 year old man with a growing son to take care of. You must find someone more suitable for you…”
“Mere liye to aapne saare decisions pahle se hi le liye hain. Lekin aapko apne liye kya lagta hai?”
“Matlab?”
“Matlab aap kya sochte hain apni zindagi ke baare mein? Kya aapko kissi ki zaroorat hai? Kya aapki zindagi mein mere liye koi jagah hai?”
“Nidhi!”
“Maine aapko surprise kar diya hai. I won’t insist on an answer now. Mujhe koi jaldbaazi nahin hai.”
“Nidhi… Tum…”
“Kya main kuchh der Rahul ke saath aur baith sakti hoon?”
He nodded and went to his room. But soon he came out and observed her with Rahul again. She was reading him a story and putting him to sleep. After he fell asleep, she bent down and kissed him on forehead. She mumbled something which seemed like ‘I am sorry’ to Ashutosh. He stepped away from the door so that she did not see him standing there when she left.
Ashutosh went back to his room and started thinking. She had asked him a question. Did he need somebody in his life? As such it wasn’t difficult to answer. Did he need somebody? Yes – he did. But could he have somebody? That was the difficult question. Outwardly he made fun of his failed marriage, but inwardly he was scarred by it. After all, at one point of time, marrying Ranjeeta had seemed like the right thing to do. It, obviously, wasn’t so. If he thought only about his loneliness, he would have risked loving and marrying again. But Rahul? He was very young when Ranjeeta had left. It had been relatively easy to get him accustomed to living without her. If something went wrong again? If he never bonded with the woman he brought in his life? If he did bond, but…
It was all just too complicated. It had become easier to live a life devoted to work and Rahul, instead of trying to fill the gap that existed in both their lives. After Baba died, there was nobody to pester him about the second marriage either. So, life had fallen into a rhythm and nobody had disturbed it till then.
But then Nidhi happened. The girl, who was such a combination of strength and bitterness that it made no sense. And then one fine day she had appeared in Rahul’s life out of nowhere. Nidhi Auntie! Ashutosh had heard him talk about her. But never even in his dreams could he have imagined that the Nidhi his son fawned over was the same Dr. Nidhi, who never even smiled. But she did smile… With Kids, with Siddhi and with Rahul. And she bonded with him. She had been a mother and a father to her sister and she managed to be a mother-figure to Rahul. That too at such a young age… Age!! Wasn’t that THE problem? They were almost a generation apart. It was unthinkable… And yet! She had thought about it. She had been thinking about it for a while. Her sudden reticence and curtness on his birthday now made sense. And she thought of it as a real possibility. Otherwise she wouldn’t have spoken of it before Rahul. So, the ball came back to his court. What did he want? Did he want somebody? Did he want her?
Should he want her?
—
To be continued
Regaining Trust (Part 8)
“Dr. Nidhi. Aap yahan lunch kar rahi thi. Siddhi ko pick karne nahin gayi?” Ashutosh asked her when he saw her coming out of canteen after having lunch with her colleagues.
“Maine usse baat ki, Sir. She is fine on her own during the day. To mere liye bhi yahi behtar hai ki main apne colleagues ke saath socialize karoon. Office ke baad to main uske saath rahti hi hoon.”
“That’s great Dr. Nidhi. She is old enough to at least partially look after herself. Aapne sahi faisla liya.”
“Yeah. Aur Sir, ek baat kahun aapse…”
“Boliye. Itna hichak kyon rahi hain?”
“Sir. Aap mujhe ‘Dr. Nidhi’ aur ‘aap’ kah kar address karna band kar dijiye.”
“Matlab?”
“‘Nidhi’ aur ‘tum’ hi theek hai na?” she said so innocently that Ashutosh laughed out loud.
“Okay. That was odd. But I can manage that,” Ashutosh continued smiling.
“Main chalti hoon Sir,” suddenly Nidhi felt odd about her request and ran away from there awkwardly.
“Kya hua Nidhi? Tum theek to ho?” she ran into Priyanka while going towards the ward.
“Main… Haan. Main theek hoon.”
“Apni shakal dekho. Kaise laal ho rahi hai? Aur paseena bhi aa raha hai.”
“BP… BP high ho gaya hoga. I need to sit down.”
“Okay. Take care.”
—
“Siddhi! Tujhse kuchh advice chahiye thi.”
“Mujhse tumhein advice chahiye? Wow! Batao. Batao.”
“Shut up. Chidha mat mujhe.”
“Achchha. Batao to.”
“Siddhi. Dr. Ashutosh ne hamari itni madad ki hai. Unka birthday aa raha hai. Mera khayaal hai ki mujhe unhein kuchh gift dena chahiye.”
“Bahut nek khayaal hai.”
“Lekin kya gift doon?”
“Ab ye main kaise bataun? Unhein tum jaanti ho achchhe se. Kuchh aisa do jo unhein pasand aaye.”
“Siddhi! Gifts khareedne mein ustaad tu hai. Kuchh to help kar.”
“Party kahan hai?”
“Mujhe nahin pata. I don’t think party hai.”
“Party nahin hai? To tumhein pata kaise chala?”
“Maine papers dekhe the unke hospital mein.”
“To agar woh party nahin kar rahe hain, to tum unke liye ek surprise party de do.”
“Main? Party?”
“Haan. Surprise party will be the best gift.”
“Okay… Lekin kaise arrange hoga?”
“Offo. Tum rahne do. Main Rahul se baat karti hoon. Ho jayega.”
“Okay…”
—
“Rahul! Yahan andhera kyon hai? Hiraman Kaka!” Ashutosh had come home running after receiving a call from Rahul that he had fallen sick.
“Surprise!” The lights came back suddenly and Ashutosh saw Rahul with his maid, Hiraman Kaka, Nidhi and Siddhi standing behind a huge cake. The hall was decorated and everyone was dressed for party.
“Happy birthday Papa,” Rahul ran towards him. Others also followed and greeted him. Nidhi was wearing a simple calf-length black dress. Ashutosh couldn’t help staring at her for a moment. But he recovered quickly.
“Thank you Nidhi. Ye aapka plan tha?” Although Ashutosh had dropped “Dr.” while addressing her, “aap” hadn’t gone out of his vocabulary. She hadn’t insisted again. But it disappointed her.
“Actually nahin. Siddhi ka idea tha aur usne aur Rahul ne mil kar hi poora plan banaya. Main to…”
“Aap to?”
“Aapko ghar par bulane ke liye jhooth tak nahin bol payi,” she laughed nervously, “Isliye last moment mein ye responsibility Rahul par shift ho gayi. I’m sorry. Aap dar gaye honge.”
“Itna nahin dara tha. Nice surprise.”
“Cake kaatein?”
“Sure.”
—
Siddhi and Rahul ate first and then they went to Rahul’s room to play, leaving Nidhi and Ashutosh alone at the dinner table.
“Ye dress aap par bahut achchhi lag rahi hai. Pahle kabhi nahin dekha aapko ismein.”
“Siddhi again. Aaj kal apni parties aur gadgets par kharche band kar diye hain usne, to paise kharch karne ki khujli ho rahi thi. Mujhe bakra bana diya.”
“Bahut khoobsoorat bakra banaya hai phir to!”
Nidhi blushed and did not say anything in reply.
“Waise mujhe pata hai ki aap is party ka credit nahin le rahi hain. But still… Thanks a lot. This was really thoughtful.”
“Well… Ye hamare thanks kahne ka tareeka tha. Aapne mujhe aur Siddhi ka itna sambhaala…”
“Achchha. To agle saal nahin milegi mujhe party?”
“This is unfair. Jiska birthday hota hai woh party deta hai. Aap kyon nahin dete?”
Ashutosh sighed, “Itne dinon se kaam aur Rahul ki zimmedaariyon mein ye hosh hi nahin raha ki zindagi ke kitne saal guzar gaye. Koi yaad dilane waala bhi nahin tha. Lekin I think insaan ko hamesha apne liye bhi thoda samay to nikaalna chahiye.”
“Haan. Yahi baat mujhe bhi realize hui hai. Mujhe mahsoos hua ki mere aur Siddhi ke relations isliye kharaab ho rahe the kyonki I was giving 100% of my life to her. And without realizing it, it put an obligation on her ki woh bhi apni 100% life mujhe de. She is growing up, she is exploring the world. Obviously, she wants time for other people. So, she started resenting me. Things are much better now that I have stepped back.”
Ashutosh looked at her smilingly.
“Kya hua?” she asked becoming conscious, “Aap aise kyon dekh rahe hain?”
“Aapki maturity appreciate kar raha hoon. Kai bachche paalne ke baad bhi log ye chhoti si baat nahin samajh paate hain. Ki the best way of parenting is to let go slowly, and not try to cling to your child for your life. And I hope ki mujhe bhi ye yaad rahe as Rahul grows up. Kyonki samajhne ke baad bhi, letting go is extremely tough.”
“Uski chinta mat kijiye. Main aapko yaad dila doongi.”
Asutosh laughed out loud,”That reminds me to tell you something else. Aap ye kab tak bachchon se dosti kar ke apna man bahlati rahengi? Ab jab aapko realize ho hi gaya hai ki aapko apne liye samay nikaalne ki zaroorat hai, aur aap apne colleagues ke saath socialize bhi karne lagi hain, then take another step. Make some friends.”
“Aap to aise kah rahe hain jaise mera koi dost hai hi nahin?”
“Kaun hai?”
“Tell me if I am being presumptuous. Lekin mujhe laga ki we are friends.”
“Oh.. well.. yeah.. Of course,” Ashutosh became slightly embarrassed, “But this is not what I meant. Friends of your age, with whom you can hang out, unwind, fall in love someday and move on in life… You know what I mean.”
Nidhi didn’t reply.
“Kya hua? Maine kuchh galat kah diya?”
“Nahin,” Nidhi looked distracted, but she smiled, “Aap kabhi kuchh galat nahin kahte. Mujhe jaldi se khaana khatam kar ke nikalna chahiye. Warna subah Siddhi ko school ke liye uthane mein der ho jayegi.” She gulped down the last few morsels of food in her plate, ate a little dessert for the sake of eating and got up without waiting for Ashutosh to finish.
Ashutosh also stood up after her, “Kuchh to baat hai Nidhi. Aap mujhe bataiye… Agar maine kuchh bhi aisa kaha…”
“Aap please mujhe sharminda na karein. Koi baat nahin hai. Main Siddhi ko le kar aati hoon…”
“Main aap logon ko drop kar deta hoon.”
“Aapko jaane ki zaroorat nahin hai, Sir. Aap driver ko bol dijiye.”
Ashutosh was confused with her behavior, but he did not insist. After she left, he picked up a wrapped packet that was lying beside a flower vase on a small table. “From Nidhi”, it said with a smiley face following it. He had seen it soon after entering the hall, But she seemed to have forgotten about it. Why? What suddenly came upon her?
—
“Di. Sab theek to hai?” Siddhi asked when they reached home.
“Kyon? Kya hua?”
“Tum bilkul khoyi hui ho. Meri baat bhi nahin sun rahi ho…”
“Bas thak gayi hoon Siddhi. So ja. Kal baat karte hain.”
“Di. Kuchh aur baat hai. Dr. Ashutosh ne kuchh kaha kya?”
“Let me be, Siddhi,” Nidhi snapped and went to her room, leaving Siddhi slightly shocked. She didn’t snap like that even when she disapproved her actions.
—
“Siddhi,” Nidhi caressed her forehead while trying to wake her up.
“Di? Kya hua?” she woke up with a start.
“Kuchh nahin. Tera alarm baj raha tha… Maine band kar diya. Main tere liye chai lai hoon.”
“Chai? Tum mere liye chai layi ho? Aise to kabhi peene nahin deti.”
“Bas sorry kahna tha. Kal raat main tujh par chillayi. Woh bhi bina wajah ke.”
“Kitni formal ho rahi ho tum? Lekin Di baat kya thi?”
“Kuchh nahin. Meri tabiyat kharaab thi. BP high tha. Dawai kha kar so gayi. Ab theek ho gaya.”
“Sure Di?”
“Haan baba. Chal ab uth. School ke liye taiyaar hona hai.”
—
“Sir. Aapke sign chahiye the in discharge papers par,” Nidhi entered Ashutosh’ office.
“Nidhi. Aap theek hain?” Ashutosh asked as he signed the papers.
“Ji. Main theek hoon. Kal raat ke liye sorry.”
“Hua kya tha?”
“Kuchh nahin. Mera BP badh gaya tha. Shayad isliye thoda irritated feel kar rahi thi.”
Ashutosh smiled, “Ek doctor se, woh bhi apne boss se jhooth bol rahi hain aap. Lekin main insist nahin karoonga. Aap jab comfortable feel karein bata dein. Aur agar meri wajah se kuchh…”
“No. No Sir. Aapki wajah se kuchh bhi nahin hua. Ho hi nahin sakta.”
“Good to know. Aur Rahul ne mujhe bataya ki aapne cake kal khud banaya tha.”
“Ji.”
“Thanks. Ek to bahut achchha tha. Doosre aapne itni mehnat ki.”
“Sookhe thanks se kaam nahin chalega Dr. Ashutosh.”
“Achchha. To phir mujhe kya karna hoga?”
“Umm… Aapko hamein treat deni hogi.”
“Okay… That is doable. Bataiye kahan chalna hai?”
“Ab itni to mehnat kijiye. Aap decide kijiye. Apni favourite jagah le kar chaliye.”
“Lekin aapko pasand nahin aayi to?”
“Mujhe pasand aayegi. Don’t worry about that.”
“Theek hai phir. Dinner tomorrow? Hum hospital ne nikal kar Rahul aur Siddhi ko pick kar lenge.”
“Ji. Sure.”
—
To be continued
Regaining Trust (Part 7)
“Look who has come to meet Siddhi,” Ashutosh came to Siddhi’s room next morning with Rahul.
“Hi Rahul.”
“Hi Siddhi. These are for you,” Rahul jumped on the bed beside Siddhi and gave her a bouquet.
“So sweet. Aren’t you going to school?”
“Today is a holiday.”
“Oh right. And I was supposed to be partying,” Siddhi pouted.
“Bas kar Siddhi,” Nidhi reprimanded her, “Us party ki wajah se you are on the hospital bed now.”
“Di please. Don’t start again. Theek hai yaar. Tabiyat kharaab ho gayi. Sabki hoti hai kabhi na kabhi. Not your usual sermon again please. Friends are bad, parties are bad… I am not a loner like you.”
“And I do not want you to be a loner like me,” Nidhi said sadly and stopped when she felt Ashutosh’ hand on her shoulder. She took the hint and changed the subject, “What else has Rahul brought? I see there are some games.”
“Yes. Siddhi and I can play the games. Then she won’t get bored.”
“Great,” Ashutosh said, “Siddhi aur Rahul games khelenge. Tab tak main aur Dr. Nidhi coffee pee kar aate hain. Okay?”
—
“I’m sorry, Sir. Mujhe Rahul ke saamne Siddhi se bahas nahin karni chahiye thi.”
“Maine aapko kissi aur wajah se roka.”
“Ji?”
“Aise confrontational hone se kaam nahin chalega. Aur abhi woh irritated hai ki party mein uski tabiyat kharaab ho gayi. I don’t think she is going to listen to any reasoning.”
“Okay.”
“Waise aapne apni schooling kahan se ki thi?”
“St. Joseph. Kyon?”
“Not from Woodstock International?”
“Nahin.”
“Phir aapne Siddhi ka admission wahan kyon karwaya?”
“I… I just wanted to make sure she gets the best. Woodstock was the most prestigious school.”
“And now she is in the company of the elites of the city. The richest brats.”
Nidhi looked thoughtful, “Maine galat faisle le liye Dr. Ashutosh. Mujhe akele rahne ka faisla nahin karna chahiye tha. At least Siddhi ko to kissi ke saath bhej hi dena chahiye. I didn’t know how to raise a child.”
“Dr. Nidhi. Mera matlab kuchh bhi aisa nahin tha. Don’t blame yourself for anything. Aapne saare faisle waise hi liye hain, jaise ki koi bhi maa-baap apne bachchon ke liye lete hain. They want the best for their kids. Maine bhi to Rahul ko Woodstock hi bheja. But now I am wondering if that was the right choice.”
“But he is amongst his equal. He’ll know how to cope.”
“Galat aur sahi ka farq har kissi ko hona chahiye. Kuchh bachchon ko jis halat mein maine dekha, main waise to Rahul ko nahin dekhna chahunga.”
“Phir hum kya kar sakte hain? Rahul to phir bhi abhi chhota hai. Shayad aap use prepare kar denge ki woh peer pressure mein na aaye. Siddhi ab uske liye badi ho gayi hai. Main kya karoon?”
“Mere paas koi jaadoo ki chhadi nahin hai ise solve karne ke liye. Lekin main itna kahunga Nidhi ki you have been very brave. Don’t lose hopes now. Aur… apne aap ko akela mat mahsoos karo. Main hoon tumhare saath. Solution nikal aayega, but you must keep your cool. Okay?”
She nodded in reply.
—
“Hello Dr. Nidhi. Aap ab tak hospital aayin nahin…”
“Dr. Ashutosh. Main Siddhi bol rahi hoon.”
“Siddhi? What happened? Why are you crying?”
“Di has fallen sick Dr. Ashutosh. Mujhe kuchh samajh mein nahin aa raha.”
“Calm down. Mujhe batao kya hua hai?”
“Raat mein fever aa gaya tha. Usne paracetamol liya. Phir nahin utra to mujhe phone kar ke wapas bulaya aur thandhe paani ki patti karne ko kaha. Bola ki fever kam ho jaye to chhod doon. Maine wahi kiya. But subah se bukhaar aur bhi tez hai. Aur woh behosh padi hai. Main patti kiye ja rahi hoon lekin…”
“Hush… Calm down Siddhi. Aise rone se kuchh nahin hoga. Bilkul chinta mat karo. Main abhi aa raha hoon, okay?”
—
“Dr. Ashutosh. Di theek to ho jayegi na?” Siddhi asked anxiously when Ashutosh came back to Nidhi’s hospital room after expediting her blood samples in the lab,
“Blood test ke results aate hi main tumhein bataunga Siddhi.”
“Main use bahut pareshaan karti hoon Dr. Ashutosh. I trouble her so much… I know I should not. Lekin…Woh meri baat hi nahin sun rahi hai. Maine usse kitni baar kaha ki ek baar aankhein khol de. Main use bilkul pareshaan nahin karoongi. Kuchh bhi nahin maangoongi. Kabhi parties ke liye ghar se bahar nahin rahoongi. Ask her to talk to me Dr. Ashutosh. Please. Woh mujhse naaraaz ho kar, mujhe chhod kar nahin ja sakti…”
“Calm down. Calm down Siddhi.”
“Meri chinta mein hi uski ye halat hui Dr. Ashutosh. Kal raat…”
“Kya hua?”
“Main party mein thi. Usne mujhe nahin bulaya hota to… Us party mein raid pad gayi thi. Thankfully main wapas aa gayi thi… Main…”
“Be rational Siddhi. Uski wajah se kuchh nahin hua hai Dr. Nidhi ko. Unki tabiyat kharaab hai. Theek ho jayegi. Come on now. Aansoo pochh lo. Aur sambhaalo apne aap ko.”
A nurse entered with the results of blood test just then. Ashutosh took the reports and studied them carefully.
“Kya hai reports mein Dr. Ashutosh?” Siddhi asked anxiously.
“Kuchh ghabraane ki baat nahin hai. Mera shaq sahi nikla. Viral hi hai. Lekin ye ek rare strain hai virus ki jiska effect thoda zyada extreme hota hai. But within ten days your sister will be fit and fine as usual. Okay?”
“Aap sach kah rahe hain?”
“100%. Main abhi physician ko bulwa kar confirm kar leta hoon. But main bhi itna bura doctor nahin hoon,” he joked and it made Siddhi smile.
“Thank you Dr. Ashutosh.”
“And listen to me now. Jab tak tumhari Di theek nahin ho jaati hai, I need you to take care of yourself. Main apne driver ko bol deta hoon. He will take you to your home. Wahan se 8-10 dinon ke layak apne kapde aur baaki samaan le lo. Phir woh tumhein mere ghar drop kar dega. Tum wahi rahogi aur Rahul ke saath school bhi ja sakti ho. Okay?”
Siddhi nodded. She was shaken up after the news of last night’s party raid. With Nidhi lying unconscious, any kind of support was comforting for her.
“Kya hua?” Ashutosh asked when he saw her lost in thoughts.
“Mujhe bahut dar lag raha hai Dr. Ashutosh. Kya main yahan ruk sakti hoon?”
“Tum party ki wajah se ghabrai hui ho?”
She nodded.
“Come here,” he hugged her protectively, “You are safe. Don’t worry.”
“Di ko kab tak hosh aayega?”
“Shaam tak. Main tumhein bulwa loonga. Tum ghar jao aur aaraam karo. Tumhare yahan rukne ka koi fayda nahin hai. Mujhe tumhari bhi chinta hoti rahegi.”
“Dr. Ashutosh?”
“Paison ki zaroorat padegi kya Di ke treatment ke liye?”
“Ye kyon poochh rahi ho tum?” Ashutosh was amused.
“Mera iPad… Main bech sakti hoon.”
“Pagal ladki,” Ashutosh grinned openly now, “Viral hai. Koi aisi bhayanak beemari nahin hai tumhari Di ko. Ye rahi car. Ghar jao tum.”
—
“Siddhi…” Ashutosh heard Nidhi’s weak voice.
“Nidhi. Tum uth gayin?”
“Siddhi… Use kuchh samajh nahin aata… Woh apni dekh bhaal…”
“Nidhi? Kya bol rahi ho?”
“Usse pocket money bhi nahin sambhalti… Woh… Dr. Ashutosh… Use kaun sambhaalega…”
“Shut up Nidhi. Kya ho gaya hai tumhein? Tum karogi dekh-bhaal uski. Kuchh nahin hua hai tumhein.”
“Main… Dr. Ashutosh…” she choked on her words and started crying.
“Kya ho gaya hai tumhein? Listen to me. Can you get up? Let me help you,” he helped her sit up on the bed. “Feeling better?” he asked.
She wiped her tears and nodded, “Siddhi kahan hai?”
“Mere ghar par hai. Main abhi bulwa doonga. Tumhein kya ho gaya tha?”
“Mujhe laga ki main… main zinda nahin bachoongi. Koi control hi nahin tha mera khud ke oopar. Main kitni koshish kar rahi thi Siddhi se baat karne ki lekin… I just blacked out… Kya hua hai mujhe?”
“MBBS cheat kar ke pass kiya tha kya?” Ashutosh joked, “Ye rahi blood test report tumhari. Dekh lo khud hi.”
She sighed in relief on seeing the report.
“Suno ab. Main Siddhi ko bula raha hoon phone kar ke. Lekin tumhein warn kar doon. Woh bahut ghabrai hui thi. Achchha hua usne tumhein aise nahin dekha, jaise abhi maine dekha. You must maintain your cool, okay?”
She just nodded. But when he stepped out, she grew emotional. She had never fallen sick like that. Despite dealing with and studying dieases in last five years of MBBS, she hadn’t fallen sick at all. And she had never given any thought to Siddhi’s future should something happen to her. She was very shaken. And she wondered… What would have happened if Ashutosh was not around. Sidhhi wouldn’t even have know whom to call for help. She wasn’t surprised to hear from Ashutosh that Siddhi had panicked. She would have. What would she do if something happened to Nidhi?
Ashutosh saw the hint of tears in Nidhi’s eyes when he came back. “What happened now?”
She smiled through her tears, “Nothing. Just… Thank you Dr. Ashuosh.”
“Really? Agar har thanks ke liye mujhe ek rupya bhi milta na, to I’d be a billionaire today. Thanks to you and your sister.”
“Agar mere paas billions hote, ya aur bhi zyada, I would have happily given them to you today”
“Right. For now I can make do with a little more smile and little less frown on your face. By the way, Siddhi ke saath Rahul bhi aa raha hai.”
—
“Di!” Siddhi rushed towards Nidhi, hugged her and started crying.
“Hey. Siddhi. Everything is all right. Ro kyon rahi hai tu?”
“I am sorry Di,” she broke the hug, but continued to cry.
“Sorry? Why are you saying sorry? I am sorry Siddhi, for scaring you.”
“I am sorry for everything. For all the trouble I have caused you.”
“Pagal,” Nidhi smiled affectionately, “Main death-bed par nahin hoon. Aise kyon bol rahi hai?”
“Di… Main…”
“Kya hua Siddhi?”
“Kuchh nahin. Main bahut dar gayi thi. Main… Just don’t leave me ever.”
“Main tere liye hi zinda hoon. Agar tujhe nahin dekha hota to shayad usi pistol se…”
“Di. Please.”
“Sorry. But ab please rona band kar. Achchha ye bata, tu Dr. Ashutosh ke yahan rah rahi hai?”
“Haan Di. Aur unhone kaha hai ki jab tab tum theek nahin ho jaati, main wahi rahoon. Is that okay?”
Nidhi thought for a moment and then nodded, “Yeah. That’s fine. Just… be nice when you are there. You understand…”
“I will always be nice Di. Always. Main ab kabhi tumhein trouble nahin karoongi…”
“Don’t say that Siddhi. Main tujhe apni tarah nahin banana chahti. I want you to have a normal life. Aur mujhe pareshaan karna to is umra mein teri normal life ka hissa hai. Samay se pahle bada hone ki zaroorat nahin hai tujhe. Main jab tujhe kuchh kahti hoon to… bas un cheezon se tujhe rokna chahti hoon jinse irreversible damage ho sakta hai. I am not a billionaire Siddhi. Isliye darti hoon ki agar tu kissi problem mein phansi…”
“You are better than billionaires, Di. And I promise ki aaj ke baad se you will never feel the need to have those billions, not because of me.”
Nidhi pulled her in hug.
—
“Kya baat hai? TV par Ram-Bharat milaap bhi itna emotional nahin tha,” Ashutosh entered Nidhi’s room with Rahul and joked.
The sisters broke their hug and looked at him questioningly.
“Okay. Aap log TV par Ramayan dekhne ke liye thode chhote hain. Mera joke bekaar ho gaya. Never mind. Sab gile-shikwe door ho gaye?”
Both of them smiled.
“To phir, hamara hero apni Nidhi Auntie ke liye kuchh laaya hai.”
“Really?” Nidhi looked genuinely excited, “Kya hai Rahul? Dikhao mujhe?”
Rahul spread a chart-paper before her. He had drawn a bouquet of flowers with “Get Well Soon” written on it.
“That’s so sweet, Rahul. Thank you so much.”
“Chaliye. Ab Dr. Nidhi ko aaraam ki zaroorat hai. Aap log ghar jaiye. Kal milenge.”
“Aap ghar nahin aa rahe Papa?” Rahul asked.
“Aaj aap maan lijiye ki Papa ki night duty hai, okay Rahul?” Ashutosh said.
“Nahin Sir. Aap ghar jaiye,” Nidhi interrupted, “Main theek hoon. Aur meri dekh-bhaal ke liye log hain yahan.”
“Lekin Dr. Nidhi…”
“Sir please. Aap ghar par rahenge to bachche safe feel karenge,” Nidhi looked at Rahul as well as Siddhi.
Ashutosh gave in reluctantly, “Theek hai. Main nurse ko bol deta hoon ki aapki dawaiyon aur dinner ka intezaam kar dein.”
“Ji.”
—
To be continued
Regaining Trust (Part 6)
“Woh mere haathon se nikalti ja rahi hai Dr. Ashutosh,” Nidhi was extremely worried and started talking on their way to the farmhouse, “Pahle hamesha mere saath rahna chahti thi… Ab to jaise mujhse door bhaagti hai… Har cheez friends ke saath karni hai. Har doosre din party… Mera uske school jaana bhi ab use pasand nahin hai… Pata nahin kaun friends hain uske… Maine kitni baar kaha ki unhein hamare ghar par bhi bulaye… Kam se kam mujhe pata to ho… Lekin nahin. Sab high-class friends hain uske. Unhein ghar bulane mein sharm aati hai use. Unhein treat bhi deti hai to bahar deti hai… Mujhe to shaq hai ki drinking aur smoking bhi try ki hai usne… Bas drugs ka chakkar na ho…”
“Nidhi. Calm down. You are imagining the worst…”
“Aaj kal pocket money dene ke alawa uski life mein mera koi kaam hi nahin hai… Pata nahin kya kar rahi thi party mein… Food poisoning to definitely hai… But dawai… dawai kahan rakhi maine? Oh God…”
“Maine rakh li hain dawaiyan. Dr. Nidhi. Shaant ho jaiye… Aap itna kyon ghabra rahi hain? Tabiyat kharaab hui hai. Theek ho jayegi…”
“Aaj ka din achchha nahin hai Dr. Ashutosh…”
Ashutosh stopped the car, turned towards the passenger seat and held her hands. “Nidhi!”
“Haan!” she was startled as if not realizing what was happening till then. “Sir?”
“Paseena aa raha hai aapko AC mein bhi. Shaant ho jaiye. Aapka nervous breakdown ho jayega warna.”
She wiped her forehead. “Ji,” she said meekly and Ashutosh resumed driving.
—
“Dr. Nidhi. Let me check your blood-pressure,” Ashutosh came to Nidhi after Siddhi was admitted in the hospital and her treatment had started.
“Blood pessure? Mera? Kyon?”
“Aapki halat sahi nahin lag rahi hai mujhe.”
“Main theek hoon, Sir.”
“Aapka boss koi administrator nahin, ek doctor hai. Let me check it.”
Nidhi gave in. And the reading left nothing to guess. Her BP was alarmingly high.
“Mujhe kuchh kahne ki zaroorat hai? Aapko ghar jaana hoga abhi. Aapko aaraam ki zaroorat hai.”
“Main Siddhi ko hospital mein chhod kar nahin ja sakti.”
“Yahan aur log hai uski dekh-bhaal karne ke liye. Aur bhi patients hain is hospital mein Dr. Nidhi.”
“Lekin Siddhi meri responsibility hai.”
“Theek hai. Main yahan rahoonga.”
“Maine kaha na Dr. Ashutosh. Main yahan se nahin jaungi.”
Ashutosh was irritated, “Aap kabhi kissi ki baat maan kyon nahin sakti?”
“Aap Rahul ko kissi aur ke bharose chhod kar chale jaate?”
He looked at her for a moment. Then spoke calmly and firmly, “Main aapke bharose chhod kar chala jaata. Mujhe aap par itna trust hai. Lekin lagta nahin ki aapko mujh par hai? Balki aapko kissi par nahin hai. Kyon Dr. Nidhi?”
“Rahul ko sabse zyada trust kis par hai?”
“Rahul ki baat kahan se aa gayi?”
“Mere sawaal ka jawaab dijiye.”
“I guess, mujh par hoga. Saare bachchon ko apne parents par hota hai.”
“Aur agar aap Rahul ka ye trust break kar dein, to kya woh kabhi kissi aur par bharosa kar payega?”
“Dr. Nidhi. Main samajh sakta hoon ki itni kam umra mein aapke liye apne parents ko lose karna bahut mushkil raha hoga. Mere bhi parents ki death mere bachpan mein ho gayi thi. Main ye bhi maanta hoon ki mere liye life appke jitni tough nahin thi. Baba mere father ke bahut achchhe dost the aur unhone mujhe adopt kiya. Bahut pyaar diya. Aapke paas koi nahin tha. Us par se Siddhi ki responsibility. Main aapki kadwahat samajhta hoon. Lekin iske liye apne parents ko dosh dena to sahi nahin hai. Apni maut par bhala kiska wash hota hai. Woh jaan-boojh kar to appko akela nahin chhod kar gaye the…”
“Gaye the. Jaan-boojh kar gaye the. Suicide kiya tha unhone. Soch samajh kar.”
“Kya?”
“Kuchh nahin socha unhone hamare baare mein. Main to sochne samajhne ke layak thi. Lekin Siddhi? Uske baare mein bhi nahin socha. Aaye the hamare relatives. Hamari help karne ki bhi koshish ki thi. Lekin jab maa-baap ne saath nahin diya, to main kissi aur par kaise bharosa karti? Maine hi sabko mana kiya. To aapko ye personally lene ki zaroorat nahin hai ki main Siddhi ko aapke bharose bhi chhod kar nahin jaungi.”
She ran off from there, leaving Ashutosh stunned. It took him a couple of minutes to think of what to do. The he went out to look for her. He knew where she would be. She was on the terrace. From afar he could not guess that she was crying. But when he went close to her, he realized that silent tears were falling from her eyes.
He put his hand on her shoulder and said softly, “Mere office mein chaliye. Yahan koi bhi aa sakta hai.” She complied.
“Paanch saal ho gaye hain,” Nidhi started speaking without any prodding, “Lekin woh scene nahin bhoolta mujhe. Aaj hi ka din tha. Maine thode dinon pahle hi MBBS shuru kiya tha. Us din dher saari classes thi. Aur practicals bhi. Main thaki thi aur jaldi so gayi thi. Siddhi ke saath hi. Ek dhamake ki aawaaz se meri neend khuli. Aas paas sab normal tha. Ek pal ko laga ki shayad maine koi sapna dekha tha. Lekin bechaini ho rahi thi. Main bahar aa gayi. Mummy-Papa ke kamre mein light jali hui thi. Maine socha unse poochhoon. Darwaaza locked nahin tha. Jab maine andar dekha to… Mummy zameen par thi. Unke sar par goli lagi thi. Papa bagal mein baithe hue the aur unhone apne sar par pistol taan rakhi thi. Main itna shocked thi ki main chilla bhi nahin paayi. Papa ki nazar mujh par padi… Par woh phir bhi nahin ruke. Mere saamne unhone khud ko goli maar li. Idhar maine Papa ko girte dekha, udhar Siddhi ke rone ki aawaaz aayi. Uski bhi neend khul gayi thi. Woh ghabrayi hui usi kamre ki taraf aa rahi thi. Main uski aur daudi, aur use god mein utha kar neighbour ke yahan le gayi taki woh Mummy-Papa ki woh halat dekh na le. Use unke yahan chhoda. Phir Mummy-Papa ko car mein daal kar hospital le gayi. Maine khud hi car drive ki. Main atharah saal ki nahin hui thi. Mere paas license bhi nahin tha. They were dead on arrival. Phir main police station gayi, aur FIR likhwayi. Dubara mujhe us car mein baithne ki himmat nahin hui. Maine police station mein chhod di. For evidence. Wapas aa kar Siddhi ko neighbour ke yahan se sote hue hi uthaya aur ghar aa gayi. Mummy-Papa ke kamre mein pistol padi hui thi tab bhi. Maine socha ki use utha kar wahi karoon jo unhone kiya. Siddhi ko goli maar kar khud bhi mar jaun. Lekin main doctor banne ja rahi thi. Mera kaam jaan bachaana tha. Lena nahin. Main wapas aa kar apne kamre mein baith gayi. Uske baad sab hazy hai. Mere neighbor ne relatives ko bulaya. Baaki sab kaam karwaye. Main bas Siddhi ko le kar baithi hui thi. Uska khaana-peena dekh rahi thi. Baaki sab jaise background mein ho raha tha. Mujhe hosh tab aaya jab log ye discuss karne lage ki main aur Siddhi kiske saath rahenge. Kissi ke saath jaane ka koi sawaal hi nahin tha. Sab log mere faisle se gussa hue. Lekin main koi aur faisla le nahin sakti thi. Phir kuchh dinon baad ek police waala aaya. Case close ho raha tha. Suicide note mein Papa ne likha tha ki woh pahle Mummy ko maar kar, phir khud ko maarne waale hain. Post-mortem confirmed it. Woh mujhe meri car lautane aaya tha. Evidence release ho rahe the. Main use kaha ki mujhe nahin chahiye. Pata nahin use kya bhalmansahat soojhi. Usne car bech kar usse jo paise mile, mujhe de diye. Main usse kuchh nahin kah sakti thi, lekin main woh paise Mummy-Papa ke room mein phenke aur use band kar diya. Phir use kabhi nahin khola… Aaj tak nahin.”
Ashutosh let out an audible sigh. She had been hiding too much. This was the death anniversary of her parents. And all the pain had come back.
“Aap isliye ghar nahin jaana chahti thi aaj? Aapko woh sab yaad aa raha tha?”
She nodded, “Mujhe bahut ghabrahat ho rahi thi. Aur Siddhi bhi nahin thi. Maine usse kaha tha ki is baar na jaye party mein. Mere saath rahe. But use laga ki main use rokne ke liye bahana bana rahi hoon. Ab lag raha hai ki uski problem ka hi premonition ho raha tha mujhe. Meri baat maan leti to uski tabiyat to kharaab nahin hoti. Aap bataiye mujhe Dr. Ashutosh. Kya mujhe kuchchh galat lag raha tha? Wahan drugs ho rahe the, hai na?”
Ashutosh nodded, “I think so. Main jaanta hoon kuchh bachchon ko jo wahan the. Unke parents ke through. It doesn’t surprise me.”
“Kya… Siddhi ne bhi drugs liye the?”
“Maine check nahin karwaya Dr. Nidhi. Use problem food poisoning ki wajah se hi hui thi. To uski dawaiyan de di hain.”
“Lekin aapko kya lagta hai?”
“Baad mein baat karte hain. Abhi tum already bahut pareshaan ho. Aur khud bhi beemaar ho,” Ashutosh said softly. Nidhi did not resist him this time.
“I am sorry. Maine aapko bhi pareshaan kar diya,” Nidhi suddenly became conscious of her outburst.
“Nidhi. Main jaanta hoon ki logon par trust na karne ke liye tumhare paas bahut badi wajah hai. Main tumhein question nahin kar sakta is baare mein. Lekin ise meri request samjho. Thoda bharosa karo mujh par. Tumne already kiya hai. Ye sab mere saath share kar ke. Aur main ye bharosa nahin tootne doonga.”
She nodded, “Lekin mujhe ghar jaane ko mat boliye.”
“Theek hai. Nahin bolunga. Lekin tumhein khud ko shaant rakhna hoga. Aur agar BP badhe to dawai leni hogi. Okay? Ye koi umra nahin hai high blood pressure hone ki tumhari.”
She nodded meekly.
“Aur thodee der hospital mein hi so lo.”
She nodded again and got up, “Main chalti hoon.”
“Take care.”
—
Regaining Trust (Part 5)
“Dr. Nidhi? Aap is taraf?” Ashutosh stopped his car near the bus stop when he spotted Nidhi. It was Sunday afternoon.
“Ji. Orbit Mall ja rahi thi.”
“Great. Hum bhi wahin ja rahe hain. Rahul ko wahan games khelne hain. Aa jaiye.”
“Sure?”
“Ab main jhooth kyon bolunga? Come in.”
Nidhi did not resist further. Rahul was excited to see his Nidhi Auntie and volunteered to shift to the back seat, so that Nidhi could have the passenger seat in front.
“Nidhi Auntie. Aapko pata hai, wahan multi-player games bhi hai. Lekin Papa mere saath nahin khelte. Aap khelengi?”
“Rahul,” Ashutosh interrupted, “Dr. Nidhi ko apna kaam hai…”
“Koi baat nahin, Sir. Mujhe bas Siddhi ke liye iPad lena tha. Mujhe koi jaldbaazi nahin hai. If you don’t mind, I’d be happy to play with him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Great then.”
—
After buying the tokens for various games, Rahul forgot all about Ashutosh and dragged Nidhi to various games. Ashutosh watched on. It was adorable how well they got along. He welcomed them back with a smile.
“Thaka diya aapne Dr. Nidhi ko?” he asked Rahul playfully.
“No Sir. Mujhe aadat hai. Aur main… enjoy karti hoon.”
“I know. Aur ye iska poora fayda uthata hai.”
“Aisa kyon kah rahe hain aap?”
“Papa. Softy!” Rahul had spotted the softy vendor and wanted one immediately.
“Here. Take the money and get it. Also get one for Dr. Nidhi.”
“No Sir. Main kya karoongi?”
“Khayengi, aur kya karengi? Go Rahul.”
“Aapke liye kaun sa flavour laun Nidhi Auntie?”
“Jo tumhein pasand ho wahi.”
“Chocolate?”
“Okay.”
“He misses having a mother,” Ashutosh said after Rahul left.
“What happened to her?”
She was surprised when Ashutosh laughed, “Nothing happened to her. Or rather love happened to her. A bit too often.”
“Excuse me?”
“We divorced when Rahul was two. She had fallen in love with someone else. And… Well… In another two years they had divorced as well. After that I did not keep track.”
“You don’t sound upset at all.”
“She was childish. I knew it all along. And I think I had found it cute at one point of time. Mujhe lagta tha ki she’d grow with time. Lekin aisa hua nahin. Mujhe gussa bhi bahut aaya jab pata chala. But then I realized that my anger was not going to change her. Maine bas usse Rahul ki custody maangi. She happily let me have it. Then we separated almost amicably.”
“Aapne sahi decision liya.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. Rahul is lucky. Kai bachche nahin hote itne lucky.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Just like that,” Nidhi replied as if she had just jerked herself out of a chain of thought. Obviously she was lying. There was something. But Ashutosh did not press. Pressurizing her never worked anyway.
“To aapko Apple store jaana hai? For the iPad?”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s go. Main bhi apne liye dekhta hoon. Mere pichhle tablet par to Rahul ne kabza kar liya.”
“Bachchon ko mana nahin kar sakte.”
“Yep. Aap bhi to Siddhi ke liye hi khareed rahi hain.”
“Ji.”
“Lijiye, Rahul bhi aa gaya. With the Softy. Kha lijiye. Phir chalte hain.”
—
“I think main baad mein loongi,” Nidhi said after checking out the models at the store.
“Kyon. Kya hua?”
“Surprise dene ka idea sahi nahin tha. Ab mujhe pata nahin ki use black chahiye hoga ya white.”
“Aapko kaun sa pasand hai.”
“Mujhe?” Nidhi laughed as if he had asked something absurd.
“Haan. Ismein hansne ki kya baat hai?”
“Mujhe kuchh bhi chalta hai.”
“Aisa kaise ho sakta hai. Aap koi itni boodhi nahin ho gayi hain ki aapki koi pasand-napasand na ho.”
“Ho hi gayi hoon. Khair. Aap le lijiye. Main Siddhi ke saath aa kar, ya usse poochh kar baad mein le loongi.”
“Actually main bhi confused hoon ki black loon ya white. Mujhe dono hi achchhe lag rahe hain. To aisa karte hain. Hum ek black aur ek white le lete hain. Siddhi ko jo pasand ho aap use woh de dijiyega. Main doosra rakh loonga. Mere liye decision bhi ho jayega. Aur aapka surprise bhi rah jayega.”
“Iski zaroorat nahin hai Sir. Aapki to pasand-napasand hai na.”
“Maine kaha na mujhe dono hi pasand aa rahe hain. Isliye to problem hai. Fortunately yahan red nahin hai. Warna main aapko bol deta ki red main kissi keemat par nahin loonga.”
“Red would have been nice actually.”
“Really? I don’t think iPad red color mein aata hai. Pasand batayi bhi aapne to non-existent.”
“Non-existent cheezon ko pasand karna achchha hai. Pata hai ki nahin hain. Trust nahin tootta. Existing cheezein trust-worthy nahin hoti… Khair. Main aapko bore kar rahi hoon.”
“Nahin. Aap mujhe intrigue kar rahi hain.”
“Agar aap sure hain ki aapko koi bhi color chalega to hum khareed kar nikalte hain yahan se.”
“Okay.”
—
“Sir. Agar aap logon ko kahin aur jaana ho to main yahan se bus ya auto le loongi.”
“Nahin. Hum wapas hi ja rahe hain.”
“Phir mujhe usi bus-stop par drop kar dijiye, jahan se pick kiya tha.”
“Main aapko ghar drop kar deta hoon.”
“Nahin,” she replied urgently, “Mujhe ghar nahin jaana hai.”
“To kahan jaana hai? Main wahin drop kar doonga.”
“Mujhe nahin pata,” she replied absent-mindedly.
Ashutosh was alarmed, “Dr. Nidhi? Kya hua hai?”
“Kuchh nahin. Aap mujhe bus-stop se pahle ek park hai wahan drop kar dijiye.”
“Siddhi kahan hai?”
“Woh apne friends ke saath gayi hai. Kissi friend ke farmhouse par party hai. Kal shaam tak aayegi.”
“Aap mere saath chaliye.”
“Nahin Sir. Main…”
“Mujhe aapse baat karni hai. Chaliye.”
—
“Nidhi Auntie! Mein aapko apni drawings dikhaun?”
“Rahul. Baad mein. Abhi Papa ko Dr. Nidhi se kuchh kaam hai.”
“Dikhane dijiye na Sir. Kitna excited hai.”
“Nahin. Abhi nahin. Rahul. Beta apne kamre mein jaiye. Auntie se boliye aapke kapde change karwa dein.”
“Aap meri drawings dekhe bina mat jaiyega Nidhi Autnie.”
“Nahin jaungi.”
Nidhi looked uncomfortable and nervous after Rahul left.
“Ghar kyon nahin jaana chahti aap? Kya baat hai?”
“Aisa kuchh nahin hai. Main bas bore ho jaati ghar par akele…”
“Aur park mein akele bahut enjoy karti? Mujhe pata hai aap normally bhi bahut khush nahin rahti hain. Lekin aaj…”
Nidhi’s mobile rang interrupting their conversation.
“Siddhi ka phone hai. I must take it, Sir.”
“Sure.”
“Hello Siddhi…. Kya… Kya hua… Oh God! Tu ghabra mat Siddhi. I will reach there right away… Kuchh nahin hoga… Don’t worry… Address bata…”
“Kya hua Dr. Nidhi?”
“Siddhi ki tabiyat kharaab ho gayi hai. Symptoms se food poisoning lag rahi hai. Woh bahut ghabra gayi hai. Mujhe abhi jaana hoga.”
“Main chalta hoon aapke saath.”
“Rahul…”
“Use maid sambhaal legi. Don’t worry…”
“Nahin. Uski drawings…”
“Come on Dr. Nidhi. Ye drawings dekhne ka time nahin hai…”
“Main use bol kar aati hoon. Warna use bura lagega. Uska kamra kahan hai?”
Ashutosh sighed and pointed towards Rahul’s room. Her sensitivity was endearing, but he wondered if she overdid it for kids.
—
To be continued
Regaining Trust (Part 4)
“Meri class mein sabke paas ipad hai. They keep doing FaceTime all the time,” Siddhi said on the breakfast table.
“You can do Facebook from my laptop, Siddhi.”
“Facebook nahin Di. FaceTime. It’s a video calling feature only on Apple products.”
“But we have a webcam. Aur school mein itna time bitane ke baad, tu phir unhi logon ke saath video chat karna chahti hai?” Nidhi tried to make a joke about her demand.
“Offo Di. You don’t understand. It’s… It’s not the webcam. FaceTime is… Well… iPad is cool. And everyone has it.”
“Okay. I will find out about it,” Nidhi said meekly because she did not want Siddhi to flare up again. This happened too often these days. Last time it was about some branded nail polish she wanted to buy. Before that about the different running and walking shoes from Nike that she needed. Each costed her above 7000 bucks. And now this iPad. Nidhi already knew the prices. She was only postponing the inevitable. She’d buy it for her eventually. And then try to compensate for it by taking buses instead of autos herself. Not that this kind of money could be saved by that. She hated digging into the savings. It was for Siddhi’s education. Nidhi had hoped that she’d run the house with her internship stipend and not spend any more savings on their daily needs after her MBBS was over. But Siddhi was growing, her needs were growing. The stipend was meagerly. Nidhi made some mental calculations. For iPad she will have to break another FD. Each FD was of one lac Rs. Around 40-45 thousands will be left after she bought the iPad. She would leave that in her savings account, instead of putting back in FD or any other investment. Some demand or the other will come up from Siddhi again. It was better to have some cash at hand. May be she should stop worrying about savings so much. After the internship was over, she’d be able to earn a decent salary. And it was only a year away. By the time Siddhi finished her 10th board exams, Nidhi should be settled well enough to support her further studies. But… But what if something went wrong… Saving were needed…. And yet an FD will have to be broken.
“Bye Di. Main ja rahi hoon. Aur aaj Natasha ke ghar party hai. So, don’t come to pick me up. I will be back later.” Oh yes! She had forgotten the 2000 Rs. spent on a gift for Natasha’s birthday. “She is my best friend Di. Uske liye mujhe kuchh to dhang ka khreedna padega. Kuchh uske standard ka,” Siddhi had argued.
But why was she grudging? It was her responsibility to make sure that Siddhi had everything she needed to be happy. She should not feel like an orphan. But the car… She wanted to be driven to her school in a car like other children. Not go in buses. But that was something Nidhi really couldn’t afford right now. After internship, with a better income she might be able to get a loan. But right now… May be she should not have disposed off that ill-fated car all those years ago… But a ten year old Maruti 800 would hardly have been Siddhi’s idea of a car that would match the tastes of her friends. Nidhi smiled despite her worries. Siddhi! How status-conscious she was! How naive and gullible. But she was only thirteen. She had the right to be gullible. She had the right to be pampered. That right won’t be snatched away from her. Never! She would not have to grow up sooner than needed.
—
“Dr. Nidhi? Aap abhi yahan hain? School nahin gayin, Siddhi ko pick karne?” Ashutosh was surprised to find Nidhi on the terrace during the lunch hour.
Nidhi was facing away from the door that connected the terrace to the hospital corridor and was startled by Ashutosh’ voice.
“Sorry. Maine aapko phir dara diya lagta hai,” Ashutosh said sheepishly seeing her turn with a start.
She smiled weakly, “Nahin. Main theek hoon. Siddhi ki friend ke yahan party hai. To aaj main nahin ja rahi hoon.”
“Lunch kar liya aapne.”
“Nahin. Thodee der baad karoongi.”
“Are jaiye. Abhi hi to sab log canteen mein honge.”
“Haan. Woh bahut crowded hai. Isliye…”
“Dr. Nidhi. Aap kabhi apne colleagues ke saath lunch nahin kar paati hain. This is the time…”
“Isliye to awkward hai, Sir…” she bit her lips as she realized that she had revealed something she did not want to. She had earned the reputation of aloofnes amongst her colleagues and now she was not comfortable having lunch with them in the canteen. She would have felt like an outsider. But what will Ashutosh think now. “I’m sorry, Sir. Mera woh matlab nahin tha…”
“Chaliye mere saath,” Ashutosh said thoughtfully.
Nidhi resignedly walked behind him expecting to be led to the canteen, but was surprised when he walked towards his cabin instead. What was this about? A private lecture on the need to socialize with colleages?
But she was in for another surprise.
“Hiraman Kaka dher saara khana bana dete hain roz. Hamesha wapas le jaana padta hai. I should have another plate somewhere… Ye rahi. Dekhiye. Aapki pasand ka kuchh hai ya nahin is dabbe mein…”
“Dr. Ashutosh. Isko zaroorat nahin hai. Aap… Main canteen mein kha loongi. Aap iske liye mujhe yahan laye the? Maine socha…”
“Sit down Dr. Nidhi. Ye chhoti-moti baatein kissi ki maan lene se koi farq nahin padega aapki independence par, trust me.”
Nidhi gave in and served herself some food. Ashutosh also got some for himself and they started eating.
“Waise aapne kya socha tha?” Ashutosh restarted the conversation.
“Ji?”
“Aap kah rahi thi na ki jab main aapko yahan laya to aapne socha… Kya socha?”
“Kuchh nahin.”
“Ye chhoti-moti baatein bata dena se bhi koi farq nahin padega Nidhi.”
Nidhi sighed, “Mujhe laga tha ki aap mujhe samjhane ki koshish karenge ki mujhe apne colleagues ke saath socialize karna chahiye and all that.”
Ashutosh smiled, “Dr. Nidhi. Hum sab apni job mein kuchh assumptions ke saath kaam karte hain. The twenty-two year olds, who walk in through the hospital gates every year, to start their professional careers… Unke baare mein bhi mere kuchh assumptions hote hain. Normally woh sahi bhi hote hain. Woh log mostly achchhe aur studious students rahe hote hain, but duniya nahin dekhi hoti, responsibilities nahin li hoti, real life ka idea nahin hota unhein. Un assumptions ke hisaab se main unhein train karne ko koshish karta hoon. Sirf medicine mein hi nahin, balki overall professional life mein. Lekin…”
“Lekin?” Ashutosh had Nidhi’s attention.
“Lekin jitna maine aapko jaana hai, itni chhoti si umra mein hi aapne itni responsibilities nibhayi hain ki mujhe pata nahin aapke oopar normal rules apply karna fair hai ya nahin? Balki woh aap par apply hote bhi hain ki nahin? Aapko already itne important faisle lene ki aadat hai khud ke liye ki main aapko decision-making nahin sikha sakta. Aapne apne faisle khud liye hain. Aur galtiyan nahin ki hain. Aur itna kuchh karne ke baad agar aap kabhi koi galti kar bhi dein, to woh aapka haq hai.”
Nidhi was staring at him in disbelief by the time he finished.She felt a lump in her throat. She could not swallow her food any longer. And if she tried to do anything at all, she was sure she’d cry. She kept her plate on the table and walked out, not heeding Ashutosh asking her to stop.
—
Ashutosh was confused about what to do for a minute. Then he decided to look for her. He found her on the terrace. Even though she was facing away from him and he was at a distance, it wasn’t difficult to make out that she was crying. He debated with himself about what to do. Go to her or leave her alone. He decided on the latter. She had run away from him to cry. He shouldn’t impose himself on her. He came back.
Knock came on his door about fifteen minutes later.
“Yes Dr. Nidhi?” Ashutosh spoke as if nothing had happened earlier.
She looked uncomfortable and flustered, “I am sorry, Sir. Woh meri joothi plate yahan padi thi.”
“Don’t worry. Clean karwa di hai maine.”
She nodded and made to leave.
“Nidhi,” he stopped her, got up from his chair and walked to her, “Do baatein. Pahli ye ki tumhari duty abhi mere saath hai. Ward no. 2 mein. Jaldbaazi ki koi zaroorat nahin hai. You didn’t have your lunch properly. Aaraam se canteen mein kuchh kha kar aa jao.”
She nodded.
“Aur doosri ye ki sharing and getting support is not a sign of weakness. Agar tum mujhse share karna chaho to I would be very happy. Lekin mujh par nahin to kissi par to bharosa karo. Kissi se to share karo, support lo. Agar main kissi se tumhari jaan pahchaan karwa sakta hoon, ya kissi professional se hi baat karna chaho…”
“Agar share karna hoga,” she interrupted, “To aapse hi kar loongi.” She didn’t know why she said that. But it sounded right.
“I will wait for the day then.”
She nodded and went away.
—
To be continued
Regaining Trust (Part 3)
“Sir. Main Siddhi ko… I mean apni sister ko pick karne ja rahi thi. Rahul ko bhi pick kar loon?”
“No. Thanks Dr. Nidhi. Uski maid wapas aa gayi hai. Woh use ghar le jayegi.”
“Okay Sir.”
“Dr. Nidhi?” She noticed that he had started using her first name instead of his usual practice of using the last name.
“Yes Sir?”
“Aap roz apni sister ko pick karti hain?”
“Ji.”
“But she is old enough to go home on her own.”
“Hum log saath mein lunch karte hain, Sir.”
“Isliye aap hospital canteen mein lunch nahin karti.”
“Ji,” she nodded looking apprehensive as if he would mind that. But he did not say anything. So, she left feeling relieved.
—
Ashutosh parked his car in the parking lot and walked towards the main building of Rahul’s school. It was the annual school picnic and the school authorities had asked parents to volunteer to accompany the kids to the picnic venue. Having a few parents around would be helpful for the teachers, as the kids on the picnic grounds could become a handful for them. Ashutosh had the day off; so he had decided to volunteer.
“Dr. Ashutosh?” he heard the familiar voice.
“Dr. Nidhi? Aaj to aapki duty thi.”
“Maine exchange kar li.”
“Yahan aane ke liye?”
“Ji.”
“That’s great,” Ashutosh said, but eyed her curiously. Why was she acting like a parent to her fairly grown up sister?
But he did not get a chance to continue the conversation. All the parents and teachers got busy in seating the kids on the buses, counting and recounting, giving instructions. Nidhi and Ashutosh were assigned to different buses; so they could not talk during the bus ride. Only after they disembarked at the venue and the kids got engaged in various activities, did he get a chance to talk to her again.
“Aap apni sister ki full-time guardian ki tarah hain,” he said cautiously, though he tried to appear casual.
“Guardian ki tarah nahin hoon, main uski guardian hoon.”
“Excuse me?”
“Woh aath saal ki thi jab hamare parents ki death ho gayi thi. Tab se main hi uski guardian hoon.” She said it as factually as if reporting a patient’s blood pressure to him.
Ashutosh was visibly startled. “I… I am sorry Dr. Nidhi.”
“It’s okay. Old story. She is doing fine.”
“I’m sure, she is. I’m sorry because I had no idea. And I could have said some things that hurt you…”
“No. You couldn’t have. I don’t give people power to hurt me,” her curt and stiff self was back.
Ashutosh’ mind was filled with a whirlwind of thoughts and he was hardly in a position to chat with her further. He tried to guess what Siddhi’s age was and if they were orphaned when she was eight, it must have been four to six years ago. Nidhi herself would have been a teenager then, herself in the need of love and care of parents. And she has been parenting her kid sister since then? Even at his age, when Rahul’s birth was a planned event of his life, he sometimes found it difficult to deal with a child as a single parent and this girl…. Is that what makes her so bitter? He stole a glance at her. She was looking fondly in the direction of her sister. Siddhi was playing volleyball with her friends. It was impossible not to notice the affectionate smile on Nidhi’s face, which was usually so devoid of anything resembling a smile. She definitely didn’t resent her sister’s responsibility. What was it then?
—
“Aap log wapas ghar kaise jayenge?” Ashutosh asked when they were back to the school from picnic. The parents who had not accompanied the kids on picnic had come to pick them up and the entire place was crowded again.
“Auto ya taxi mil jayegi, Sir.”
“Kaafi der ho gayi hai. Let me drop you. Car hai…”
“No. No Sir. That won’t be necessary. Aur phir Rahul ke sone ka time bhi ho raha hoga. Aap late ho jayenge.”
“It’s not a problem at all. Aur hamara hero abhi 11 baje se pahle nahin sone waala hai. Itni raat ko aap logon ka akele jaana theek nahin hai…”
“Sir. Hum hamesha jaate hain. Koi problem nahin hai. Right Siddhi?” Nidhi tried to get her sister to endorse her.
“Yeah Di. But you know… I am kind of tired…”
“Siddhi!” Nidhi was flustered.
“Dr. Nidhi. Please let me,” Ashutosh insisted.
He saw an expression of helplessness and regret on her face as she nodded. Obviously she was not happy at the situation. For a moment he felt bad about offering to drop them. It seemed to have hurt her self-respect. And yet… not making an offer would not have been like him. It would not have been like anyone with any sense of responsibility. It made no sense that they should be scouting for an auto this late, after a tiring day, when he could have dropped them easily.
—
“Sir. Aap please andar aaiye na,” Nidhi said when he pulled up the car in front of their house.
“Nahin Dr. Nidhi. Aap log thake hue honge. Aaraam kijiye. Main phir kissi din…”
“Sir. Chai to main bhi piyungi hi aur khana bhi banega hi. Agar aapko taqleef na ho to please andar chaliye aur hamare saath hi dinner kar lijiye. Abhi ghar wapas ja kar kahan dinner ka intezaam karenge?”
Hiraman Kaka would have taken care of dinner at his home. But he did not want to say it and make her feel small. At the same time he did not like the idea of her slogging away on dinner for four people.
“I have a better idea. Hum ander chalte hain. Aap hamare liye chai banaiye aur dinner ke liye hum pizza order kar dete hain,” he said.
“Pizza! Yes!” Rahul and Siddhi exclaimed in almost in chorus.
Nidhi looked unsure, but finally nodded.
—
Rahul happily followed Siddhi to her room. Ashutosh ordered pizza, while Nidhi made tea. The house was big for two people and Ashutosh guessed that it must have been built by their parents and was not rented.
“Rahul abhi aath saal ka hai and he gets a handful for me so often. It was very brave of you to take the responsibility of your sister at that age,” Ashutosh said while having tea.
“Main brave banne ki koshish nahin kar rahi thi. I just did what I had to.”
“That is still incredible. In fact, more so.”
Nidhi did not react to it and continued sipping her tea without meeting his eyes. Ashutosh fidgeted feeling uncomfortable at the silence, but the doorbell came to his resuce.
“Must be pizza delivery. I will get it,” Nidhi got up.
“No. Nidhi. Wait. I will pay for it,” Ashutosh stopped her.
“Sir. Aap bhool rahe hain ki aap mere ghar mein hain. I am the host.”
“Aur aap bhool rahi hain ki main aapka senior hoon.Sit down.”
“But…”
“No if’s and but’s,” he declared and went to the door.
Nidhi looked on feeling slightly annoyed with herself. What was happening to her today? She was losing control, giving in too much to Ashutosh. First revealing about her parent’s death, then the ride home, then the idea of pizza for dinner and now him paying for it. She didn’t like the idea of paying over 500 Rs. for a meal of pizza. Her father’s insurance and property had left her enough to pay for her own education and their normal upkeep. But she couldn’t afford to be reckless. She was saving for Siddhi’s education.
She came out of her thoughts when she saw Ashutosh struggling with several large boxes of pizza, garlic bread and cakes.
“Aapne kitna saara order kar diya hai?”
“Cold drinks darwaaze ke paas rakhi hain.”
“He bhagwan!” she exclaimed and rushed to the door so that Ashutosh didn’t have do all the work himself.
She stood with her hands on the hips and stared at the pizza boxes and accompaniments arranged on the dining table.
“Ye chaalish logon ka khana hai, Sir. Yahan sirf chaar log hain, poora hospital nahin.”
Ashutosh liked it that for once her words were not measured and calculated. She just spoke whatever came to her mind.
“I’m sorry. Lekin maine socha ki sab ki pasand alag alag hogi. To mujhe jo samajh mein aaya order kar diya. Jo bach jaye fridge mein rakh dijiyega.”
“Ek hafte tak mere ghar mein pizza festival chalega. Khair. I will call the kids.”
Her marvelled at her motherly expressions and language. It was cute coming from a twenty-two year old.
Nidhi tossed and turned in her bed till late that night. Something about the day was making her uncomfortable. Something about Ashutosh was making her uncomfortable. Siddhi was elated. At the ride in Mercedes. At the pizza dinner that Nidhi hardly indulged her in. And it bothered her that the source of her elation came from the pockets of someone else. From the pockets of Dr. Ashutosh. To make the matters worse, he came across as a dependable person. Of course, he did, Nidhi told herself. He was used to being a parent. All parents came across as dependable. It didn’t mean they were actually so.
—
To be continued
Unwilling Fighter (Epilogue)
“Parlez-Vous Anglais?” Siddharth asked someone on their way to Jungfrau in Switzerland and drove on after hearing ‘non’ from him.
“You speak French?” Karishma asked looking impressed.
“I just asked him in a very bad accent if he spoke English,” he replied making her grin. “That shopkeeper is definitely American. He should be able to help me. I am slightly confused about the route. Just wait here.”
He got the directions and marked the place on his GPS device and then they drove on.
“This is my favourite place in Europe,” he said when they reached at the intended place, “Probably in the whole world.”
“Why?”
“When you are here, you are literally on the top of Europe,” he smiled.
“Being on top, being a winner is important to you, isn’t it?”
“And it’s not so to you?”
“I don’t care much, I guess… Being happy is more important.”
“You think I should change?”
“No. Not at all. This is what makes you happy; so why should you change?” she said, then added jokingly, “But yes – this is just the top of Europe, not the top of the world.”
“Yeah. For that we have to go to Nepal. But somehow being on top of Nepal doesn’t sound particularly exciting. Europe is a different beast,” he grinned in reply.
“Can I ask you something?” she suddenly turned serious.
“Go on.”
“I never understood something about you… Why me? I mean you are someone who likes to win and win the best. How did I ever become important to you? Why did you want to crush me? Then win me over? Then want or…”
“Love you?” he completed her sentence.
She nodded in reply.
“So you want to know my story?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember when we had met for the first time?”
“All too well!”
“It wasn’t an accident that I had asked to meet the writing team. I had wanted to meet you.”
“What? Why?” Karishma visibly jumped in surprise.
“I had been watching the episodes of the serial… I hated it. I am sorry, but I did. And yet, every third week there was something likable about it. After poking around a bit, I figured that it was always the week when you wrote the screenplay.”
“And so you came to meet me and give me an offer for acting? Makes no sense.”
“No. I just came to meet you. And…”
“And?”
“And fell for something. Probably your defiance.”
“I was irritated, all right. You had sent the entire office in frenzy by coming when Diksha Ma’am was not there and by insisting on meeting the writers when Ritesh Sir was not there.”
“Yeah. Most people I know would just have been nervous and scared. It was different with you. And if you have seen the movie, you would know why I wanted to cast you.”
“And you assumed that I would want to act.”
Siddharth laughed, “What can I say? Obviously it sounds stupid now. But almost everyone I know in the industry comes here with acting ambitions. I could never have imagined… Anyway. You were different again.”
“And you got angry with me?”
“That’s what I thought. That you were giving attitude to me and I had to show you your place.”
“What do you mean by ‘thats what you thought’? Isn’t that the truth?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if that were the case, when I saw you breaking down and crying, on our…” he stopped and sighed before continuing, “wedding night, I should have felt victorious, elated. But I only felt miserable.”
Karishma looked at him curiously. He gave a faint smile and continued, “That’s when I realized that… I wasn’t angry with you. I had fallen for you. Fallen so hard that… I didn’t know how to handle it. Now you shouldn’t be surprised that I probably did awkward things after that.”
“Nothing in the world can every surprise me again. This is… just… beyond… imagination,” she seemed to be struggling to find the right words to describe how she felt about it.
“Is it?”
“This is such a filmy story. I can’t believe I am a character in it.”
Siddharth laughed out loud, “So, should we make a movie on it? We can act together.”
“No way. You will have to find another actress. I will burst out laughing doing those scenes.”
“You are finding it funny?”
“Not funny… But this doesn’t sound real either.”
“You have more power over me than you realize.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“Can I try to use it then?”
“Don’t misuse it.”
“I am not insisting. Just an advice…”
“Yeah?”
“Get Diksha Ma’am back. Letting go of a bit of business won’t hurt you. Make it a separate company or whatever. But it would be worth regaining the relations.”
“Hmm…”
“Ideally relationships should not be affected by business. But we don’t live in an ideal world.”
“You are not insisting, right?”
“No way.”
He smiled, “Fine. I will think about it. But the truth is… That I don’t need anyone else now. I have you.”
“Let’s just say I am trying to reduce my work,” she said jokingly.
“Getting a sister back is not going to reduce your work unfortunately,” he replied naughtily and bent down to kiss her.
– The End –
Regaining Trust (Part 2)
“Sister. Pakadiye ise kas ke. Dawai le hi nahin rahi hai. Zabardasti deni padegi.” Kabir was struggling with a six year old patient.
“Kabir,” Nidhi chided him, “Bachchon ko aise dara-dhamka kar kuchh nahin hota hai. Kaun si dawai deni hai, batao mujhe.”
“Tum darane-dhamkaane ki baatein kar rahi ho,” Kabir laughed good humouredly, “Tumse to bade bhi darte hain Dr. Nidhi Verma. Bachchon ka kya hoga?”
“Badon ko darane ki zaroorat bhi hoti hai,” Nidhi mumbled, clearly not enjoying the joke.
Kabir shrugged and walked off to attend to other patients. Nidhi wasn’t aware that Ashutosh was standing near the door of the ward and was observeing them. He continued to watch as she sat down with the girl, soothed her down,distracted her with little jokes and games and finally made her have the medicine. She was still smiling when she got up from the patient’s bed and made her way to the door, only to encourter Ashutosh hardly a meter away from the bed. When did he come?
“Aap muskurati bhi hain?” Ashutosh said.
“Ji?” she was startled.
“Pahli baar aapko smile karte hue dekha hai. Warna mujhe to lagta tha ki aap yahan bilkul tortured feel karti hain.”
“Aisa kuchh nahin hai, Sir.”
“Aapse kuchh baat karni thi. Agar aap free hain to mere office mein chalein?”
“Ji.”
—
“Lunch par sab aapko miss kar rahe the,” Ashutosh said.
And she smiled. For the second time in the day. But her smile was sarcastic this time.
“Itna mujhe pata hai ki koi mujhe miss nahin kar raha tha. But thanks for trying to be sweet. Coming to the point – I am sorry. Mujhe maaloon hai mujhe wahan rahna chahiye tha. It was rude that you were invited and I was not there…”
“Nahin. Point ye nahin hai ki main invited tha. Mujhe pata chala ki aap kabhi bhi lunch baaki logon ke saath nahin karti hain. Ya otherwise bhi apne colleagues ke saath zyada mingle nahin karti hain…”
“I don’t think ki is baare mein koi rule hai.”
“Rule nahin hai Dr. Verma. But har workplace ki kuchh dynamics hoti hai, culture hoti hai. Aur sabse badee baat social aspect hota hai. Ye jo profession hai, ye hamein emotionally, physically aur mentally drain kar sakta hai. Fighting diseases and accidents day and night. Hamein support ki zaroorat hoti hai. Aur immediate support apne colleagues se milta hai. Agar aap unhein alienate kar dengi to aapko hi problem hogi.”
“Agar baat sirf meri problems ki hai to mujhe apni problems se deal karna aata hai. Uske liye aapko chinta karne ki zaroorat nahin hai.”
“I appreciate your self-reliance. Bahut achchhi quality hai. Lekin… I get a feeling ki koi cheez hai jo aapko pareshaan kar rahi hai. Maine abhi-abhi aapko patient ke saath dekha. Aisa to nahin hai ki aap logon se connect karne mein capable nahin hain. In fact, aap kaafi capable hai. Pahle bhi bachchon ke saath maine observe kiya hai. Phir colleagues ke saath kyon problem hai aapko? Are you hyper competitive?”
“Am I obliged to answer?”
“Would you feel more comfortable talking to a woman? I can ask Dr. Mallika or…”
“Aap ye sab kyon poochh rahe hain? Meri performance mein koi problem hai?”
“Nahin. Bilkul bhi nahin. You are doing very well. But as a boss and as a mentor I care about things beyond performance…”
“Dr. Ashutosh,” she interrupted impatiently, “I report to you. Aap mere boss hain. Meri performance mein koi problem ho, koi shikayat ho to aap mujhse jo chahe kah sakte hain. Lekin meri life mein koi mentor nahin hai. I am sorry, but main life-coaching lene ke mood mein nahin hoon. Na to Dr. Mallika se, na hi aapse. Can I leave now?”
He nodded. There was no getting into this girl’s head. She left.
—
“Rahul? Beta aap yahan kaise? Main abhi nikal hi raha tha aapko pick karne ke liye,” Ashutosh was hurrying out of the hospital to pick his son up from the school. The maid who looked after him was on leave that day. So, he was surprised and scared to see that Rahul had already reached hospital.
“Don’t worry Dr. Ashutosh,” he heard Nidhi’s voice, as she approached them, “Rahul mere saath aaya hai.”
“Aur humne khoob enjoy kiya raaste mein. Maine Nidhi Auntie ko tic-tac-toe mein paanch baar haraya. Hai na?”
“Of course. Rahul genius jo hai.” The girl who was talking so affectionately to his eight-year old son was definitely not the Dr. Nidhi Verma he knew. She appeared rather normal and jovial. But then she was so with kids quite often. But how did…
She read his confusion, “Sorry. Maine explain nahin kiya. Meri sister bhi Rahul ke school mein padhti hai. Usse badi hai. She is in class 8th. But both of them participate in the drama group. So, they know each other and I know him. Main apni sister ko pick karne gayi thi to pata chala ki Rahul ko bhi yahin aana hai, but aapne teacher ko phone kiya tha ki aapko der ho jayegi. To main ise apne saath le aayi.”
“To aap aur Rahul ek doosre ko pahle se jaante hain?”
“Papa. Maine aapko bataya tha na Nidhi Auntie ne drama group ke liye cake banaya tha annual function ke baad.”
Ashutosh grinned, “Nidhi Auntie? No wonder I could never guess. Beta auntie bulane ke liye ye thodi young hain. Aap inhein Didi bulaiye.”
“Rahen dijiye, Sir. Did bulane ke liye main thodee old hoon. Sab bachche mujhe auntie hi bulate hain. I don’t mind. Main chalti hoon. Lunch ka time khatam ho raha hai.”
“Sure. And thanks Dr. Nidhi.”
“No problem, Sir.”
—
“So, aap apni sister ke bahut close hain?” Nidhi was reading in the common after taking her round in the ward for the night duty, when Ashutosh walked in.
“Sir?” Nidhi was startled and could do nothing more than acknowledge him.
“Mere aane se aap hamesha pareshaan ho jaati hain.”
“Aap hamesha aate hi koi sawaal daag dete hain.” Ashutosh thought he saw a faint smile on her face as she retorted in a tone softer than usual for her.
“Aur aapko mere sawaal achche nahin lagte.”
“Achchha-bure ki baat nahin hai. Mere paas usually koi dhang ka jawaab nahin hota,” she was stiff again.
“Khair. Aapko pata tha ki Rahul mera beta hai?”
“Ji.”
“Aapne kabhi bataya nahin ki aap use jaanti hain?”
“Kabhi zaroorat nahin hui.”
“Zaroorat?” Ashutosh laughed, “Aap har kaam zaroorat ke hisaab se karti hain?”
She didn’t reply, just bit her lips.
“Sorry. Main mazaak kar raha tha. But Rahul aapke baare mein bahut baatein karta hai. Hospital mein hi nahin, bahar bhi aap bachchon ki favourite hain. Mujhe bas kabhi realize hi nahin hua ki uski Nidhi Auntie aap hain.”
She smiled weakly.
“Dr. Verma. Aap… Oh! Kya aap nahin chahti thi ki mujhe pata chale? Ki Rahul aapko jaanta hai?”
She sighed, “Mujhe nahin pata ki main kya chahti thi.”
“Aapko use laane ki koi zaroorat nahin thi phir. Kyon le aayin aap? Maine teacher ko phone kar diya tha…”
“Bachchon ko akelapan bardasht nahin hota, Sir. Woh ruansa ho raha tha. Main use chhod kar nahin aa payi.”
“Thanks. And sorry. Uski maid aaj chhutti par thi aur main kuchh emergencies ki wajah se time se nahin ja paaya…”
“It’s okay, Sir. Mujhe pata tha ki aap busy hain. Isliye to main use le aayi.”
“Yeah. Lekin ye baat mujhe pata hai, isse agar aap uncomfortable hain, to phir maan lijiye ki mujhe nahin pata hai. Maine kabhi iska zikr nahin karoonga.”
Ashutosh got up to leave. Nidhi also got up and stopped him, “Dr. Ashutosh. I’m sorry. Mujhe galat mat samajhiye. Main koi…”
“Tumhein galat nahin samajh raha hoon, Nidhi,” he suddenly addressed her by her first name and used ‘tum’ instead of ‘aap’, “Tum kuchh galat to kabhi karti nahin ho. Tumhein galat kaun samajh sakta hai? Lekin jab bhi tumhein dekhta hoon, tumse baat karta hoon, kahin na kahin mujhe ye mahsoos hota rahta hai ki apne andar kuchh daba rakha hai tumne. Jaise umra se zyada serious aur mature banne ke liye you are trying very hard, jaise kissi cheez se khud ko protect kar rahi ho, jaise koi laava bhara ho tumhare andar. Mujhe pata hai ki tumhein advice pasand nahin hai, lekin phir bhi… Main ye nahin kah raha ki tum mere saath share karo. Lekin isse pahle ki ye laava volcano ban kar phat jaye, kissie se saath share karo. Thandha karo ise.”
He went away and Nidhi stood rooted to her place for several seconds after that. She was stunned and tears clouded her vision. How did he know? How did he understand?
—
To be continued